


A Salted Body

by Arithanas



Category: The Borgias (2011)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Nudity, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 04:09:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12573384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithanas/pseuds/Arithanas
Summary: Cesare did Lucrezia a great favor when he sent his servant with her to Naples.





	A Salted Body

**Author's Note:**

  * For [agirlnamedtruth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlnamedtruth/gifts).



> This fic owes so much to [rosefox](http://archiveofourown.org/users/rosefox)'s careful corrections.

Micheletto often wondered why humans always took the harder way when a practical solution was just at hand. His never-idle mind amused itself with those kinds of gratuitous questions.

Micheletto took another turn around the clearing in the woodland where service led him that night. He moved quickly, taking great care to not disturb the smallest branch. The lady’s ritual by the bonfire must not be interrupted this time.

As naked as she was the day her mother threw her into this world, Lucrezia Borgia knelt in front of the hollowed plank she used to blend her deadly mixtures. Her long hair cast a deep shadow over her face but Micheletto could notice the way light danced on her wet lips. She was delivering her incantations in a language that evoked home in Micheletto’s mind.

He never questioned why men were barred from learning that language. He had no use for fancy words; his talents lay elsewhere. The incantation whetted his senses and his fingers rubbed the hilt of his silver dagger.  Many nights spent with his mother in the cornfield had taught him this was the moment when danger would approach from the darkest corners.

Lucrezia raised one vase high and poured its contents on a piece of willow bark. Light hit the drops and Micheletto was distracted by her trickery. It looked like a stream of green fire was falling from her hands. Fond memories pulled the corner of Micheletto’s mouth.

The half-smile faded when he noticed a tree was not reflecting the blaze that bathed his lady Lucrezia. He snatched the pouch from his belt before he even had time to think about it, and flung it towards the shadow that was peeling from the tree.

Quicksilver and sulphur salt sprayed over Lucrezia’s head as the pouch hit the demon's head. She bent her body over the plank to protect the precious mixture from contamination. Micheletto didn’t think twice and jumped over her. He held a silver dagger close to his chest. Demons like these would use every trick now that they were vulnerable.

The sound of two bodies colliding was all the notice Lucrezia needed. As the demon and Micheletto rolled on the packed dirt, Lucrezia poured crushed bark into her mixture. She was utterly unruffled by the gurgling, agonic sounds at her back. She shook her long, golden hair to get rid of the salt as she poured the final product into a small vial and corked it tight. Only then did she get up and walk toward the man and the demon.

“Are you done, Micheletto?”

“Almost,” Micheletto growled as he pulled out some of the demon’s viscous insides.

Lucrezia waited until her guardian offered her the demon’s liver with both hands. 

“Cesare did me a great favor when he sent you to me,” she said. With a smile, she patted Micheletto’s head and accepted his gift.


End file.
